The coronation of King Charles III, a symbolic event that combines a religious service and spectacle, is being celebrated by millions of people throughout the UK and beyond. The King, who will be crowned on May 6 alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey since 1066. There will be traditions from more than a thousand years ago on the day of splendour and formality. Guest: Professor Saul Dubow, Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History Cambridge University We will talk about the Commonwealth and its broader global ramifications while also reflecting on this momentous date and the oppression and colonial history it commemorates.

Heading into winter, the impact for businesses is compounded, especially those in the mid-market sector. As well as the impact on business, the growth of imports in this space and lending solutions for businesses  Guest: Itumeleng Merafe, Investec for Business The solar energy sector has been fully embraced to offer some much needed relief to the market, crippled by loadshedding. According to research, the global solar energy market was valued at $52.5 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $223.3 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 20.5% from 2019 to 2026. In South Africa, there is no doubt that the need for certainty around business continuity, in addition to our geographical landscape, the move towards greener energy and government incentives, have fueled this market growth. Questions What are mid-market businesses looking at when it comes to back up energy solutions? Lenders have created service offerings to cater to the solar energy need – please talk to us about this What do businesses operating in SA need in order to qualify for such financing? The growth of businesses in the solar import space – how are they fairing when it comes to meeting demand?

His plays Paradise is Closing Down, Panorama, God's Forgotten, Auditioning Angels, Faces in the Wall and Just Like Home have been performed internationally, and his one-man shows Adapt or Dye, One Man One Volt, You ANC Nothing Yet, Truth Omissions, Live from Boerassic Park, Dekaffirnated, Foreign Aids, Evita for President, Elections & Erections, Desperate First Ladies, An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Uys, The Echo of a Noise and When in doubt, say darling have been presented in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, the USA and Canada.  His performance of Foreign Aids at La Mama received the Obie Award in New York in 2004. Guest: Pieter Dirk Uys, South African author Guest: Justice Edwin Cameron, Former Judge His plays Paradise is Closing Down, Panorama, God's Forgotten, Auditioning Angels, Faces in the Wall and Just Like Home have been performed internationally, and his one-man shows Adapt or Dye, One Man One Volt, You ANC Nothing Yet, Truth Omissions, Live from Boerassic Park, Dekaffirnated, Foreign Aids, Evita for President, Elections & Erections, Desperate First Ladies, An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Uys, The Echo of a Noise and When in doubt, say darling have been presented in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, the USA and Canada.  His performance of Foreign Aids at La Mama received the Obie Award in New York in 2004. Pieter-Dirk Uys has been doing this sort of thing for so long that people now refer to it as a career.  Officially unemployed since the early 1970s, he writes, directs, acts, produces and does everything else, including the making of dresses and the wearing of them!  Having survived the mediocrity of apartheid kultuur, it is his therapy and his joy to expose the bones of that dinosaur for the entertainment of democratic audiences worldwide.  He is delighted to still have a government that on a daily basis writes his best material! Most of Uys’s satirical work was available in South Africa on video (and still is, on DVD) and so, in spite of government censorship during apartheid, he built up a very large multiracial audience.  Members of the present democratic parliament remember seeing his videos while in exile and in prison!  He has been seen on SABC since the late 1970s in a variety of programmes, including An Uys up my Sleeve (1985); One Man One Volt, which was to be screened prior to the 1994 election, but was held back for ten months; You ANC Nothing Yet (1996); and The Great Comedy Trek(2004).  The series Going Down Gorgeous, featuring Nowell Fine in a saga from 1976 to 2004, was screened towards the end of the last century.  Foreign Aids has been broadcast for Aids Day (1 December), and in 2007 SABC2 presented Dinner with the President, a 13-part talk show hosted by Evita Bezuidenhout.  Ten of Uys’s shows are currently available on DVD. A prolific writer in many genres, Uys’s novel Trekking to Teema was South Africa’s first internet book in 2000, before being published in tree-format.  His second novel, Panorama, was published by Missing Ink in 2013.  He has also written Evita Bezuidenhout’s biography, A Part Hate A Part Love (1994), as well as a book based on his12-part 1994 MNET television series, Funigalore, in which Evita Bezuidenhout interviewed the new democratic government’s leaders, including Nelson Mandela. His (and Evita’s) cookbook, Evita’s Kossie Sikelela (2010), became a bestseller and was followed in 2012 by a second cookbook, Evita’s Bossie Sikelela. Uys has written three memoirs, Elections and Erections (2003) Between the Devil and the Deep (2005) and The Echo of a Noise/Weerklink van ‘n Wanklank (2018), as well as the ‘autobiography’ of Evita’s younger sister, Bambi Kellermann, Never too Naked (2011).    Pieter-Dirk Uys was awarded South Africa's prestigious Truth and Reconciliation Award in 2001. He has received honorary degrees from Rhodes University (D.Litt.Hon. 1997), the University of Cape Town (D.Litt.Hon. 2003), the University of the Western Cape (D.Edu.Hon. 2003), the University of the Witwatersrand (D.Litt.Hon. 2004) and University of Kwazulu Natal (Doctor of Literature honoris causa 2014). As well, Pieter-Dirk Uys's celebrated alter-ego, Evita Bezuidenhout, proudly received the Living Legacy 2000 Award in San Diego, USA.  In 2011 Uys was honoured with a lifetime achievement Teddy award at the Berlin International Film Festival; in 2012 he received both the FW de Klerk Goodwill Award and the German-Africa Award; and in 2016 he received the ACT (Arts & Culture Trust) Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award.   Since 2000 Pieter-Dirk Uys has been travelling around South Africa with a free AIDS-awareness entertainment called For Facts Sake!, visiting over 1.5 million school children, as well as prisons and reformatories, He has also released a corporate AIDS-information video, Having Sex with Pieter-Dirk Uys, as well as the family-friendly video, Survival Aids, and Just a Small Prick!, addressing the fears surrounding testing for HIV. Recent successes include F.A.K. Songs and Other Struggle Anthems (2010), a cabaret revue featuring Bambi Kellermann with her Bokkie Band, and 50 Shades of Bambi (2013), both for the Fugard Theatre, Cape Town; extended seasons of Adapt or Fly (2012), An Audience with Pieter-Dirk EISH! (2013), The Echo of a Noise (2016), Evita Bezuidenhout and the Kaktus of Separate Development (2017), When in doubt, say darling (2018) and #HeTwo: Evita Exposed! (2019) in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town; and seasons of An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Uys (2014),The Echo of a Noise (2018) and When in doubt, say darling (2019) at London’s Soho Theatre. In 2009, Uys directed Macbeki, his first new play since 2003, at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg.  His next play, The Merry Wives of Zuma, was premiered in 2012, and his most recent play, African Times, in 2015. In 2015, Pieter-Dirk Uys turned 70. To celebrate, a new collection of his Afrikaans plays, Stukke Teater, was published by Human & Rousseau, and he was chosen as the National Arts Festival’s first Arts Icon.  Uys performed three special solo shows during the 2015 festival: A Part Hate A Part Love (featuring Evita Bezuidenhout); Never Too Naked (featuring Bambi Kellermann); and The Echo of a Noise.  In honour of Evita Bezuidenhout’s 80th birthday, Kyknet presented Kyknet vir Tannie, produced by Evita’s former secretary, Bokkie Bam (Lizz Meiring), with greetings from Evita’s far-flung family and interviews hosted by Coenie de Villiers. Uys is the subject of two award-winning documentaries.  The first, Darling!  The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story (2007), directed by New Zealander Julian Shaw, is about Uys’s Aids-awareness campaign. The second, Nobody’s Died Laughing: A Journey with Pieter-Dirk Uys (2016), directed by Willem Oelofsen, follows the peripatetic Uys for most of 2015.  The 2020 pandemic shuttered theatres worldwide, including Evita se Perron, Uys’s cabaret theatre and restaurant in Darling. Happily, the venue has been bought by the owners of Darling Sweet, who have made it the home of their new bakery, Swartland Kitchen, as well as a new Perron cafe and deli, while retaining such unique Perron features as the museum/nauseum collection of apartheid-era artifacts and the satirical garden, Boerassic Park. There are currently also three Perron cats in residence. Uys returned to the Perron stage in September 2021 and premiered a new show, Lockup/Lockdown, at Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town in October 2021. During the pandemic, Uys presented live-stream shows from Cape Town’s Penny Lane Studios in July, August and September 2020. The pandemic lockdown also inspired him to revisit his earliest one-man shows, collecting them as One Man Shows: The black and white years, which was released on his website in December 2021, free for all to enjoy. The next collection, One Man Shows: The Mandela Rainbow Honeymoon, will be released in 2023.

Guest: Steven Sachs, Director at Bagraim Sachs Inc #Monday Lecture: Labour and South Africa: A Political Perspective

Guest: Connie Matlejoane, Chief Executive Officer - CRM Enterprise (PTY) Ltd Tips from a female entrepreneur on how to get a seat at the table and secure business from big businesses . .

Guest: Nthabiseng Dubazana, Director and Attorney at Dubazana Attorney How does this law work in the context of South Africa? Is this specific to types of jobs or contract agreements? What are the processes of claims

Guest: Prof Mary Metcalfe  - Education Expert Professor and Former Member of the Gauteng Executive Council

Guest: Mamokgethi Phakeng - Former UCT vice-chancellor

Guest: Lincoln Mali - Southern Africa CEO for Lesaka

It is undisputed that the University of Fort was a key institution in higher education for black Africans from 1916 to 1959 and today post our democratic dispensation the enrolment patterns of the university still remain an institution in the main accommodating the children of the working class and the poor, who in the main a black. 80% of the University of Fort Hare are beneficiaries of the National Student Financial Aid. offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub-Saharan Africa, creating a black African elite. Fort Hare alumni were part of many subsequent independence movements and governments of newly independent African countries. Amongst those who studied at Fort Hare who later became leaders of their countries were Kenneth Kaunda, Seretse Khama, Yusuf Lule, Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo. Within our country, we have amongst our liberation leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Oliver Tambo, and Desmond Tutu. This in indeed a very important institutions within the community of our post school education and training sector. The university of Fort Hare has been under a lot of scrutiny, investigation and attempted assassination to cover up corruption, we look in to the developments and progress of these challenges. Guest: JP Roodt, Director of Marketing and Communications of UFH. Also spokesperson for the University.

As the situation in Sudan continues to be fraught, the department of international relations and cooperation (DIRCO) has confirmed that the implementation of an evacuation strategy is at an advanced stage. We also understand that currently, there are about 77 verified South African nationals trapped in Sudan. Network connectivity has been a challenge in the process of moving people to the border while the ceasefire is still in place. How is the evacuation process going now? We’re joined by Clayson Monyela, Deputy Director General: Public Diplomacy at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. Guest: Clayson Monyela, International relations and co-operation department head of diplomacy The latest number of verified South Africa nationals stuck in conflict torn Sudan is 77, according to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), as it continues rescue efforts while fighting rages on in the African country. In a late night Twitter update Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for Dirco, indicated that all 77 South African nationals were believed to be in a WhatsApp group, together with embassy staff who are also stranded in Sudan. Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum has been engulfed in a deadly military battle between the government forces led by the military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo since April 15. A number of people in the capital and other cities in Sudan have been left trapped in their homes with fighting in the streets and in the air, between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group. Monyela said that while they were aware of the complaints of inconsistent or little to no communication from the team, it must also be understood that the teams have run out of diesel and there's no electricity and poor network there. "They've since found a way to recharge batteries and will update SA nationals regarding evacuation plans," Monyela said. The fighting hasn't stopped in the area and while it remains a "dangerous and risky operation", Monyela assured that security agencies were at an advanced stage with their evacuation plan. "The airport is closed and all routes are not risk free. [Government] is doing everything possible to get our nationals out. Without revealing security plans, there's an option that is being implemented. Updates will be provided," Monyela said. Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of humanitarian group Gift of the Givers, said that the South Africans stuck in Sudan had shown resilience and strength but were anxious and scared. He said the Gift of the Givers had been rallying to support and encourage them in the best way possible, and it was fortunate that some of those stranded had better cellphone connectivity, through which they had managed to arrange buses to move the stranded South Africans to the airport. "We've also been requested by the Tanzanian government to help them to evacuate their nationals. " We are in contact with people within our government. "It's extremely complicated but careful planning, paperwork, right decisions, working together all of us, I'm sure we will survive and succeed in bringing everyone home. This is not a Gift of the Givers intervention, we are just trying to help, guide and do the best we can, " Sooliman said. This fierce battle between the military and paramilitary forces in Sudan has rung international alarm bells with countries across the globe pulling strings to safeguard their interests. The days of violence in Sudan have resulted in the death of at least 180 people, with many more left wounded.

The stigma associated with mental illness has permeated society; it is now seen as a sign of vulnerability and as a condition that should be kept private. People frequently struggle with their mental health, we examine how they cope, the difficulties they encounter, and the factors that contribute to depression and suicidal thoughts. We examine how these specific challenges are overcome when cues from childhood traumas are present. Guest: Boitumelo Mancwe, Founder of Unsuicidalthoughts and Mental health activist “The campaign is established to raise mental awareness, mainly suicide and depression. We exist to educate individuals on what it means to be depressed and to have suicidal thoughts. We are creating a platform for individuals to speak out without being judged or afraid to seek help, because of the way society has defined depression and suicide as being a weakness, hence people die in silence.   People need to know that they are the power, they can change the negative to positive and they can change their lives for the better, all they need to do is shout out for help and they will be acknowledged. That is why unsuicidalthoughts exists, to be there to listen and help, show individuals that we are for them and not against them as society would be. Unsuicidalthoughts aims to inspire to redefine our thoughts. We trying to build a platform where people will feel safe and comfortable to express their feelings and not feel judged but rather understood, because sometimes a positive breakthrough can happen through talking and being listened to”

#Youth unemployment is a depressing reality in post-apartheid South Africa. For many black South Africans, the change from apartheid to democracy 29 years ago held out the hope of a fresh start. The promise of equality for everyone was one of many. This meant that after years of oppression, discrimination, and segregation, black people were finally making progress toward political freedom, monetary prosperity, service delivery, access to public goods, and human dignity. After nearly three decades, the unemployment rate in South Africa is at 32,7%, and 30.4 million people are considered to be below the poverty line. one can inquire as to what became of the pledges made by the African National Congress. Guest: Asanda Ngoasheng, Political Analyst More information The ANC is still led by people born and raised in the apartheid era, so the party lacks new and fresh ideas. It has been leading South Africa astray. The drastic increase of youth unemployment every year is evidence enough that the country is in a dark alley. South Africa currently suffers a 61% youth unemployment rate, which is far higher than it was during the apartheid era (29. 92%). Some people would argue that this is due to the rural-urban migration and the increasing population in the country compared to the apartheid era. Nevertheless, it is apparent that the government has dismally failed to create jobs and provide black South Africans with the financial freedom that was promised by the ANC when it took power in 1994. Since 1994, various initiatives to reduce the rate of youth unemployment in South Africa have been implemented, but most were not effective. For example, former president Jacob Zuma adopted a new youth policy in 2015. It promised that all government departments would prioritise programmes that are critical to youth development. There is hardly any evidence that the national youth policy and the ones that came after, such as “democracy development”, achieved anything. The youth are facing many barriers to employment. “The challenge for unemployed youth is not only one of skills. There are many graduates, who have completed university degrees, who are still unemployed,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Youth Day celebrations at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on June 16, 2018. He further called on both public and private companies to scrap the experience requirement. However, his call was not effective as many companies still require two to five years’ experience for entry-level jobs. Initiatives such as the YES program and the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) only offer the youth 12 months of internships and temporary work. This is another issue that the youth are confronted with, as 8 out of 10 interns do not get permanently employed after the programmes. Therefore, they must start looking for other jobs which, in most cases, 5 out of 8 do not get them. As mentioned, the experience requirement is not the only employment barrier that the youth is facing. Ramaphosa’s focus must not be narrow.  Firstly, the quality of education that is provided from primary to tertiary is a major down slope to the employability criteria. The government must invest in educational programs and teachings that cater for coding, technology, engineering, IT as we are moving towards the world of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The Covid-19 pandemic also took a toll on South Africans, especially in the work industry. Three million people lost their jobs during lockdown, which drastically increased the number of unemployed youths. Subsequent to this, Ramaphosa’s administration has not made an adequate effort to help the country to recover from the pandemic. Therefore, many people remain unemployed. In addition to the baneful effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa is currently confronted by an energy crisis ‘load shedding’. Consequently, many private businesses had to let go of their employees, and some closed down. This is another increase in the rate of youth unemployment and an ongoing downstream to poverty as businesses cannot function properly without electricity. As Ramaphosa said, he is not obligated to provide South Africans with electricity.

 GUEST: PETER FABRICIUS - FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST AND DAILY MAVERICK JOURNALIST  HOW DID THE GUPTA BROTHERS SLIP THROUGH OUR FINGERS?

Dr Trevor Ngwane is a socialist and anti-apartheid activist. He previously worked as a sociology lecturer at Wits University where he helped found the Wits Workers' School, to teach literacy to the campus cleaners and gardeners. He was the National Education Officer for the Transport & General Workers Union of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. In 1995 he was elected Ward Councillor for Pimville Zone 5 and 7, Soweto, on an African National Congress ticket.  In 1999 he was expelled by the ANC for opposing the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality's privatization of municipal services. In 2001, he helped found the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee and then the Anti-Privatisation Forum in 2002, which both campaign against the privatisation of public services. Guest:  Dr. Trevor Ngwane Director of the Centre for Sociological Research and Practice  AND founder of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee]    For his takeover, Dr Ngwane will focus on the scrapping of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit which will happen on the 30th of June. He is of the view that it will cause a lot of suffering to ordinary people and is a step backwards away from Pan Africanist solidarity Guest: Lydia Moyo, Project leader of a research project into ZEPs at UP    Phone     

#2024 African Continental Free Trade Agreement Business Forum The three-day 2024 African Continental Free Trade Agreement Business Forum (AfCTFA), which got under way at the Cape Town International Conference Centre on Sunday, is the first in-person forum of its kind since AfCTFA was established in July 2019, and is aimed at implementing an actionable plan arising out of their first report “AfCTFA: A new Era for global business and investment in Africa.” The AfCFTA aims to progressively eliminate tariffs and make it easier for African businesses to trade within the continent, to benefit from the growing African market which currently stands at some 1.3 billion consumers. Guest: Lily Sommer, AfCFTA Programme Manager at the International Trade Centre  

Guest: Prof. Bonang Mohale, President of Business Unity South Africa Guest: Connie Mulder, Head of Research at Solidarity   Guest: Matthew Parks , COSATU’s Parliamentary coordinator   President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Employment Equity Bill into law. The Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2020 was passed by Parliament in May 2022. According to the Presidency, the new laws will promote diversity and equality in the workplace and empower the government to set specific equity targets by sector and region, where transformation initiatives have lagged. The law requires companies with more than 50 employees to submit employment equity plans for their companies on how to meet these targets, and then submit annual reports to the Department of Employment and Labour. And companies seeking to do business with the state will be required to submit a certificate from the Department confirming that they are in compliance with the Employment Equity Act.  The objectives of the amendments are to empower the Employment and Labour Minister to regulate sector-specific Employment Equity (EE) targets and to regulate compliance criteria to issue EE Compliance Certificates in terms of Section 53 of the EE Act.

Guest: Joan van Dyk, News Editor at Bhekisisa We’re in conversation with Joan van Dyk, the news editor at Bhekisisa. She recently wrote an article that speaks about how the past three health ministers have failed the nursing profession by not speeding up on the necessary amendments to give nurses more authority in prescribing and dispensing medicines, and eventually easing the burden on the public health system.  Medicines such as antidepressants are grouped under schedule five and the prescription schedule for narcotic painkillers such as morphine is one level higher. Medicines at these levels have a moderate to high risk of dependence and so they can only be prescribed by doctors at the moment. Because Aaron Motsoaledi, Zweli Mkhize and Joe Phaahla all failed to complete the final steps required for the new regulations to kick in, South African nurses’ prescribing rules are stuck in 1984, when they were first published. In practice, this means nurses can be trained to prescribe and dispense medicines only up to schedule four (which includes antibiotics and HIV treatment, for instance).

As we are all aware by now, it appears that the man who works for Eskom that switches our power on and off has returned from leave, with loadshedding having been reimplemented and now the country is on stage 6. Apart from loadshedding being an annoyance and inconvenience to many South Africans, it can also result in individuals and businesses suffering damage in various forms. Does Eskom have the right to simply deny us power as and when it deems fit? Is a person entitled to take legal action against Eskom if they or their business suffer financial or other damages as a result of the same? Guest: Tshepo Mojapelo ,Director at Mojapelo Attorneys (a civil litigation law firm) 

Guest: Mr koffi Kouakou, Analyst with interest in France Politics #What to expect from this week's pension protests in France

Guest:  Prof. Pitika Ntuli, South African sculptor, poet, writer, and academic #Durban Art Gallery to stage Pitika Ntuli’s acclaimed exhibition

#TUESDAYTAKEOVER - Dr Sithembiso Bhengu – Director at Chris Hani Institute Guest: Dr. Sithembiso Bhengu , Director at Chris Hani Institute Guest: Prof. Mandla J. Radebe ,Associate Professor in the Department of Strategic Communication and the Director for the Centre for Data and Digital Communications at University of Johannesburg.]  

Guest: Ms Theresa Michel, CEO Afrika Tikkun Bambanani Bambanani - Creating a better future for children through education - Bambanani Sifunde = Coming Together To Learn

The South African public  had until the 25th of February to respond to the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, B1 – 2023, that intends to amend section 6 of the constitution in such a way that South African Sign Language (SASL) is added to the list of 11 existing official languages. Prof Theadorus du Plessis of the University of the Free State says it is not necessary to make SASL an official language. He says this will merely grant symbolic recognition to the language, which will not necessarily grant more rights to persons with hearing impairment than they currently already enjoy. He fears that the obsession with the officialisation of SASL will end up being just another smokescreen for neglect of duty by the state. Guest: Prof Theodorus du Plessis, Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies, University of the Free State 

The South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) should advocate more for the profession, and supervisors must undergo a specific training course and be accredited with the Council. This is according to Dr Sandra Bredell, who believes that this is necessary in order for the council to be able to support social workers and help them with their work-life balance. In an attempt to gain an understanding of how social workers perceive their work-life balance and their subjective wellbeing, Dr Bredell interviewed frontline social workers and managers. Her findings reveal that more than half of the social workers who participated in her study wanted to quit their job within the first five years because of deteriorating working conditions. Social Work is an integral part of our lives and if the practitioners are not being supported, what effect will this have on the community and on families? Guest: Dr Sandra Bredell 

The United Kingdom is gearing up to pass new laws that will ban trophy hunters from importing of the body parts of endangered animals into the country. The law has been highly contested as some believe that the law will undermine sustainable hunting and conservation efforts in the form of anti-poaching unit. Others have raised questions surrounding trophy hunting being a colonial practice and that the UK is overstepping by dictating what African countries should do when it comes to their hunting laws. Our next guest unpacks not only why trophy hunting endangers wildlife but addresses how this practice reinforces a culture of guns, violence, dispossession and indignity.  We are joined by… Guest: Michele Pickover , Director of the EMS Foundation   

It has been a hundred years since the existence of Langa township, in Cape Town, and mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has outlined the city’s plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary. A number of cites have been identified and they will be redeveloped and refurbished. But will this translate to job creation and sustainable development for the community? Will these projects indeed benefit the community for the next 100 years to come? What are the sentiments in Langa? Is the community happy about these planned upgrades and celebrations Langa Township - tell us more about it and its history? The relationship between the people and the mayor - are politics not going to stand in the way of this development? When community projects of this nature come up, they seldom see the finish line - money goes missing, community members pull in different direction, what measures are put in place to ensure the success of this project? Guest: Alfred Magwaca, Member of the Langa Centenary steering Committee

Guest: Prof. Mike Brookes, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal | Co-founder of the UKZN Aerospace Systems Research Institute  Our next guest is part of a team that has successfully competed a test launch of a 1-D hybrid rocket. The Phoenix 1-D was carrying experimental sensors and cameras as part of the mission. Sounding rockets are rocket-propelled launch vehicles that carry experimental payloads to the upper reaches of the atmosphere that play a crucial role in facilitating experiments in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including biotechnology, astronomy, astrophysics, materials science and meteorology. Through their Space Propulsion Programme, young mechanical engineering students work on the rockets focusing on advancing their skills in advanced manufacturing, aerospace systems design, rocket launch operations and computational analysis. 

Guest:  Marcus Low, Editor of Spotlight NSP  During the COVID-19 pandemic (2021), a survey into the prevalence of Tuberculosis was conducted. The first of its kind in country, it illustrated that thousands of ordinary citizens were not getting diagnosed for the disease and that patients presenting themselves at the clinic was not enough to reduce transmission of the disease. Two years after the initial study, a new set of guidelines have been implement using the test and treat approach. This approach follows upscaled testing by looking at multiple transmission points outside of the household and provides expanded treatment therapy upon of the outcome of the results. To help us understand what this means for communities, we are joined by…

Guest: Roland Harris , (former) MMC in the City of Joburg ]   Guest: Athol Trollip, Chairperson of ActionSA in EC & former mayor of Nelson Mandela Metro]   South Africa’s municipal government elections in 2021 produced a number of local government coalitions. There’s now a strong possibility that the next government that’s formed at national  level may be a coalition too. This would be the first since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Elections due in 2024 will test the extent of the declining dominance of the ANC, with some polls suggesting that the party could fail to secure the 50% of the vote required to form a government.   With the chaos seen in local coalitions, can South Africans expect a national coalition to be  stable? The turbulence in coalitions seen in 2021-2023 led to the disintegration and  reconstitution of municipal coalitions. Political parties accused each other of all sorts of things,  and the result is a lack of attention to actually governing cities, and providing municipal services.

Nic Spaull is an Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Stellenbosch University and part of the Research on Socioeconomic Policy (RESEP) group in the Department. Nic’s research centres on education policy in South Africa with a focus on inequality and early grade literacy and numeracy. Nic has held visiting fellowships at Stanford University in the US and the OECD in Paris and is currently a non-resident fellow at RISE as well as the Centre for Global Development (CGD). Nic recently (2019) co-edited “South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality” with Jonathan Jansen. In 2021 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Meiring Naude Medal as well as the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) P-Rating, the highest rating possible for researchers under 35. During the COVID-19 pandemic Nic initiated the National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM). Nic comments regularly in the media and advises numerous high-level policymakers and philanthropists in South Africa and abroad. GUEST Nic Spaull Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Stellenbosch University and part of the Research on Socioeconomic Policy (RESEP) group 

Our next guest have filed a complaint at the North Gauteng High Court to have Judge Willie Seriti and Judge Hendrick Musi called before the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) to account for their failure to adequately investigate the Arms Deal. The organization wrote a letter to the JCC to investigate if the actions of the judges amounted to criminal misconduct and called for the NPA to intervene back in 2020. Nearly R142 billion was lost in the corrupt Arms Deal, much of it ending up in the hands of a small group of powerful European corporations, politicians and middlemen. GUEST Michael Marchant  Head of Investigations at Open Secrets

Award-winning jazz musician, composer and songwriter Gloria Bosman has died. The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) confirmed the news and the cause of death has yet to be shared. The musician was recently appointed to Samro's board as a non-executive director. She boasts two South African Music Awards (Samas) and more than 11 nominations, as well as two Kora nominations. Bosman was born in Mofolo in the heart of Johannesburg and raised in Pimville, Soweto. She has toured the world and shared the stage with Sibongile Khumalo, Concord Nkabinde, Sipho Mabuse, Moses Molelekwa, Tananas, Vusi Mahlasela, Sipho Gumede, Oliver Mtukudzi and Hugh Masekela. GUEST Roshnie Moonsamy  Festival Curator | Producer in Literature, Music and Performing Arts

Our next guest is a Philanthropist, Entrepreneur and Television Producer. She was scouted in her school uniform at the age of 16 and recruited to be a model, which lead her into the spotlight at a tender age. She later became one of the first black super models in new post-apartheid South Africa. In 1996 she was crowned the first Black Miss Cape Town while studying for her bachelor of commerce at the University of the Western Cape, where she’s now an alumnus. Since then, she has gone onto sit on the boards of Gauteng Film Commission and Tara Hospital. She has worked at the Head of Publicity and Media Management at SABC1 and worked as the Deputy Director of Communications. Guest Uyanda Mbuli Philanthropist, Entrepreneur and Television Producer

Focus: Our next guest is concerned that the Independent Electoral Commission will be faced with another budget cut after the Minister of Finance tabled his Budget Speech in February. The chapter nine institution is set to lose up to R240 million in the medium term (2022 - 2025). The IEC has raised its concerns on the budget cuts given that their mandate has been expanded in the last 18 months. The IEC appeared before Parliament’s Committee for Home Affairs ahead of the 2023/2024 financial year. Last year, the Commission warned that continued underfunding will undermine its ability to hold elections that are free and fair. GUEST  Letlhogonolo Letshele Electoral Systems Researcher at My Vote Counts 

Since 2005, the Africa Institute of South Africa under the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has been building research capacity and initiate collaborative projects among young academics across the continent. This week, it will host a conference brining together researchers from Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The scholars will assess the first decade of implementation of Agenda 2063. It will also analyse how peace, security, and youth leadership will lead to the development of the Africa we want. We are joined by… GUEST Check Achu  Senior Researcher Specialist of the Africa Institute of South Africa at HSRC

Guest: Mashango Sithole, Coordinator of the Peer Assisted Learning and Foundation Provision at the Teaching and Learning Development Centre at MUT In an attempt to strengthen academic support to students and stop the revolving door syndrome in higher education, where large numbers of students drop out without completing their qualifications, a study by Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) researchers identified the reconfiguration of the tutoring programme to be sustainable and efficient as a possible solution to improving student support. Co-authored by Dr Phiwayinkosi Gumede, Acting Senior Director of the Teaching and Learning Development Centre at MUT, and Mashango Sithole, Coordinator of the Peer Assisted Learning and Foundation Provision; the study that a sustainable and effective tutorship programme, characterised by qualified and well-trained tutors, stable policy, adequate resources, effective coordination of the activities, and cooperation amongst key role players could be really effective in assisting students.

Guest: David Verity, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London AND Hospitaller in the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem London-based opthalmologist David Verity is visiting South Africa as a special guest of the Order of St John. Over the weekend, he was in Durban as Guest of Honour and Keynote speaker at the Ophthalmological Society of SA national conference that was held from the 9th to the 11th of March. to be held at the Durban ICC from Thursday 9 until Saturday 11 March.

Guest: Paul Morgan, Head of Data, Analytics and AI at Altron Karabina    Chat GPT is a new technique that operates in dialogue format. The tool makes it possible to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. To some tech experts, the technique could create more jobs and boost productivity. However, it does not come without disadvantages or potential dangers. To help us unpack what we should know about this tech and how it may appear in our daily experiences, we are joined by…

Guest: Meike Wetsch, Coega’s Unit Head for the Capital and Funding Office and Coega MICT SETA Graduate Internship Programme Project  We're in conversation with Meike Wetsch, Coega’s Unit Head for the Capital and Funding Office and Coega MICT SETA Graduate Internship Programme Project. She shares key learnings from her experience designing the Coega MICT SETA Graduate Internship Programme. When Coega’s Digitalisation Work Stream looked at the post-qualification employment data of ICT graduates, they found that except for top graduates who find viable employment within three months of qualifying, the balance of Eastern Cape graduates remains unemployed for between eight to eleven months post qualification, with the bottom quarter of the qualifying class spending on average 18 months to two years seeking employment. 

Guest: Michael Bagraims, Labour Law Attorney at Bagraims Attorneys  Health Minister, Dr. Joe Phaahla faces his first major challenge as he navigates the NEHAWU strikes as healthcare workers demand a 10% increase and housing subsidy as the illegal strike entered its second week. NEHAWU represents 112 000 healthworkers and the majority of those workers are rendering services in public hospitals as well as clinics. Government can only offer 3% to the workers and have been granted an interdict which forces essentials workers to return to their posts. Despite the court rulings,workers have prevented patients from access to public facilities and removed doctors from helping patients. Thus far, four people have passed on during the strike action. To unpack the labour stalemate and speak to what options the Health Minister has at his disposal, we are joined by…

After a two month wait, President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation tonight on the cabinet reshuffle. This has come after the announcement of a new ministry to address the energy crisis plaguing Eskom and the rolling blackouts that are currently at stage 5 loadshedding. Besides this announcement, the President has three vacancies to fill: the Department of Transport, Department of Public Administration and Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa. The new roles created in the Presidency illustrates the concerns opposition parties raised during the State of the Nation Address of centralizing power while not holding underperforming cabinet ministers accountable or firing them. How does the President’s changes influence the structural of governance? Guest: Dr. TK Pooe, Senior Political Science and Governance Lecturer at the Wits School of Governance   

Just after Eskom’s long term load shedding forecast in January, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group sent out an online survey to members of the SADAG community. In a project led by Dr Bronwyn Dworzanowski-Venter of UJ’s Faculty of Humanities, SADAG was especially interested in uncovering specific pressure points that could lead to negative psychological and practical outcomes. The uncertainty that comes with the constant rolling out of load-shedding was bound to cause anxiety and depression for many people, and this has been revealed in SADAG’s Load Shedding Survey.  Alongside helplessness, the majority of employed survey respondents were expected to deliver work, despite outages, adding high levels of performance anxiety and work-related stress.  Guest: Fatima Seedat, Development Manager at SADAG

Despite president Cyril Ramaphosa promising to address South Africa’s power crisis with urgency, he has delayed the announcement of a new minister of electricity and a shake-up of his cabinet by almost an entire month. Many had expected the cabinet reshuffle before the State of the Nation Address on 9 February, but the president instead surprised the nation by announcing a new minister of electricity. He said that the minister would be situated within the office of the presidency and would singularly focus on resolving load shedding and broader power crisis. Given the deteriorating energy situation – and having declared a national state of disaster over the crisis – the expectation was then that immediate action would be taken and the relevant appointments made. However, it was then said that the president wanted to wait until the Budget Speech on 22 February to reshuffle. Guest: Prof Sampson Mamphweli, Head of the Department of Science and Innovation’s Energy Secretariat at SANEDI

Our next guest works with communities to address one of the biggest social ills in the country: Crime. His work at the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board makes him responsible for promoting community-police relations. Their work provides oversight on the police working and assist the MEC of Community Safety in Gauteng to do oversight and account to the Gauteng Legislature Portfolio Committee Committee Safety. Guest: Thokozane Masilela Executive Chairperson of the Gauteng Community Policing Forum  #TuesdayTakeOver - Guest Interview  TJ Masilela will be in conversation with Francis Lucas on school safety and gang violence. How does this impact our communities? Guest: Francina Lucas ] Position AND org.: [• Chairperson of the Western Cape Community Policing Forum ]

 How do you stage elections for more than 93 million voters? With great difficulty, headaches, delays and technical issues, it turns out. More than 24 hours after the polls closed, some Nigerians were still voting in Africa’s largest democratic exercise. The numbers are staggering; Nigeria has 176,606 polling units and voting passed without incident in most of them. However, it was overshadowed by widespread reports of delays, technical issues, and attacks and voter intimidation at some polling stations. We're in conversation with Yiaga Africa, a non-profit civic group that deployed 3,836 observers across the country. They have expressed their disappointment with the elections, saying that the country has not overcome and resolved, perennially the logistical challenges with elections. This was supposed to be the year that the electoral commission would provide real-time results via its new portal, iReV. Yiaga said it was concerned that as of Saturday 10pm local time, when results were known from thousands of polling units, they had not been uploaded to the electoral commission’s voting portal GUEST:  Moshood Isah Media Officer at Yiaga Africa 

Focus: Coalition politics has gained prominence in the public imagination in recent months following the breakdown in several local government councils including metropoliticans: Johannesburg and Tshwane. In response to this crisis, our next guest has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet to convene an independent panel. The proposed panel should assess the limitations of coalitions in South Africa to strengthen their effectiveness. By suggesting a suitable combination of remedies that the government, political parties and civic society then act upon, the panel can help create a pathway toward a stabler system capable of delivering for citizens. GUEST: Pranish Desai Senior Data Analyst at Good Governance Africa

New research has revealed that the world’s largest trial of a 4 day week are largely consistent with existing global evidence, further demonstrating the benefits of reduced-hour, output-focused working. The Four-Day week trial has taken place in over 60 companies and almost 3,000 workers through a six-months with no loss of pay for workers. Companies rated their overall experience of the trials an average of 8.5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7.5/10. Revenue rose by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year. To talk about how it works and if it will make it to SA shores, we are joined by… Guest: Dr Dale Whelehan, Chief Executive Officerat the 4 Day Week Global

The African Human Rights Yearbook is a peer-reviewed journal dealing with the aspects of the African human rights system covering its norms and the operation of its institutions. The Yearbook also looks into the connection between human rights and the theme of the African Union: ‘Strengthening resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent. The theme looks into the strengthening AGRO-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of development’. To unpack the importance of this work, we are joined by Guest: Dr. Tresor Makunya, Postdoctoral Fellow and Publications Coordinator at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria

Blind or visually impaired persons access documents by using a screen reader that reads a text out loud or displays it on a special hardware braille device. However, a large body of technical and scientific material remains inaccessible to them because mathematical equations and diagrams are represented as images and not as text that a screen reader can read. Our next guest has found a new method that could make it easier for visually impaired persons to read graphical information. We are joined by… Guest: Dr. Rynhardt Kruger, Researcher and Developer in Voice Computing at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)